The remains of Sarah Ann
Blocker lay in an unmarked, weed-covered grave in St. Augustine,

next to the grave of her
friend and co-worker, Nathan W. Collier, whose grave is marked with a large
tombstone.

You cannot mention Sarah Ann
Blocker without including Nathan Collier and Florida Memorial College they were
the heart and soul of Florida Memorial College for many years. He was
president, she was listed at various times as vice president, matron, or
teacher.

Both Miss Blocker and Mr.
Collier were from Augusta, Georgia. How they knew each other is not known, but
it could have been through church. They were both Baptist, although later in
life they adopted the Bíhai faith.

Miss Blocker was probably one
of the original teachers at the Florida Baptist Academy, founded in
Jacksonville in October, 1892.

She had been teaching at the
Florida Baptist Institute for Negroes in Live Oak (Sewanee Co. FL)

which was established in 1879
with support of the American Baptist Home Mission Society.

Dr. Gilbert resigned as
president of the school in Live Oak and moved to Jacksonville, where he was
asked to head the Florida Baptist Academy, opened in October, 1892. He asked
Miss Blocker and the Rev. J. T. Brown to teach at the new school, positions
they accepted. Dr. Gilbert resigned as president in 1894 and the Rev. J. T.
Brown became president. Rev. Brown asked Miss Blocker to be his assistant.

When Rev. Brown resigned
several years later, Miss Blocker recommended recent Atlanta University
graduate, Nathan W. Collier for the post. Mr. Collier accepted. Miss Blocker
and Mr. Collier worked together until Dr. Collierís death in 1941.

FBA became Florida Normal and
Industrial Institute and moved to St. Augustine in 1918. That campus is now
deserted, the buildings deteriorating, but the school flourishes in Miami,
where Sarah A. Blocker Hall houses classrooms.

Students today probably do
not know anything about Miss Sarah Ann Blocker. In truth, few facts are
available about her early life.

Former students describe her
as strict, but fair and add that she did not put up with any nonsense from the
students. There are also stories about how she helped girls find jobs whose
families could not afford the tuition and bent the lights- out rules so they
could study later at night.

We know that she was probably
born in Augusta, Georgia. Her death certificate lists her birth date as October
27, 1857 B a time of tremendous conflict and change in the south.

From her motherís Freedmenís
Bureau bank account, we know that she was the second child and only daughter of
Sarah Ann Stewart and Isaiah Blocker, Sr.

Were they slaves? Probably,
but proof has not yet been found. Miss Blocker=s father was from Edgefield, SC
(just across the river from Augusta), where there are many white Blocker
families.

Her mother and maternal
grandmother were both born in Delaware and we understand that Delaware to north
Georgia was not an unusual migration pattern.

The elder Sarah Ann Blocker
is listed as head of household in the 1870 census. She could not read or write,
her occupation is listed as seamstress, and her mother lived with the family.

The 1880 federal census lists
both Miss Blocker and her mother as seamstresses.

Miss Blocker is listed as a
teacher in the 1888 and 1889 Augusta City Directory, and two of her brothers
were school principals in Augusta.

Miss Blocker attended Atlanta
University for two terms (1881-82 and 1882-83) and probably earned a teaching
certificate. In those days, teachers were not required to have a four year
college degree, but they were required to attend yearly summer classes.

Miss Blocker died in April,
1944 and was buried next to Nathan Collier on the FMC campus. When the school
moved to Miami, both graves were moved to their present location.

From her obituary in The
St. Augustine Evening Record. . .

The
death of this beloved colored resident will be heard with deep regret
throughout St. Augustine as she had numberless friends among both the white and
colored populations.

She was
known as a leader among Negro educators and had worked for half a century for
the progress of her race. When she retired from active participation in the
affairs of the Florida Normal a year or two ago she was accorded many honors.